Surinder Singh Gohlan acts as Judge in The Westminster Bar Society Criminal Moot

The Westminster Bar Society had the privilege of hosting barristers Surinder Singh Gohlan from 9KBW, James Caudwell from 2 Harcourt Buildings and New York Attorney Charity Mafuba as judges for our criminal law moot on Saturday 1 st April 2023 sponsored by The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn.

The Westminster Bar Society has a diverse membership with most members from underrepresented groups at the Bar. We aim to increase access to the Bar by providing opportunities for students to network, train and develop the practical skills they need as aspiring barristers, ensuring that students from all backgrounds are able and empowered to engage in legal events and environments.

Our annual mooting competition is an excellent opportunity for students to develop key practical skills for the Bar by applying an area of law in a mooting context. The competition is open to students of all levels who enter the moot in teams. It takes place in the spring, specifically to include first year students who will have gained academic understanding of contract, tort and criminal law.

This year’s moot enabled students to hone their written and oral advocacy skills as well as deepening their understanding of the application of criminal law.

Surinder, James and Charity judged the students on the quality of their skeleton arguments, the persuasiveness of their submissions and their court etiquette. This was the first mooting experience for many of the students, most of whom have never been in a courtroom. The students felt the feedback they received from practising legal professionals enabled them to develop their advocacy skills and built their confidence.

The Westminster Bar Society is incredibly grateful to the judges for the time they volunteered to judge the moot, providing a realistic experience of a courtroom. This is a rare opportunity at this stage of the students’ education. They are all looking forward to their next competition. We look forward to hosting the judges at further moots at the Westminster Bar Society.

Competitors 

Giulia Uddin Mollah and Aayush Manji v Tia Burgess and Farida Yusuf

Keir Adeleke and Angel Leworthy v Bobby Francis and Christina Ferron

Md Khalid Abdulla and Suzan Shenol v Aleksandrina Dumanova and Jumana Shakir

Jannat Gol and Asli Sarikaya v Carol Tellez Contreras and Shriya Gupta

Clerks 

Yacine Merabet 

Tia Kennedy-Beecher 

Awards 

Winning Team: Carol Tellez Contreras and Shriya Gupta

Runner’s Up: Tia Burgess and Farida Yusuf

Best Advocate: Bobby Francis